Needs more Devilishness

I don't understand "The Devil Wears Prada." It's about a Midwestern college graduate who goes to New York to become a journalist. Somehow Andrea (Anne Hathaway) ends up in the offices of Runway magazine, a stand-in for Vogue, rather than the serious magazines she longs to work for like Vanity Fair or The New Yorker. Andrea at first looks down on the fashionistas who look down on her frumpy attire. Then she starts wearing some nice clothes, combing her hair, working long hours and flirting with man who wears those dubious long scarves around his neck that the Gap promoted a few years ago.

So what don't I get? Well, why I should care that a bland woman becomes a bland, over-worked slave to a fashion magazine? Anne Hathaway's Andrea is passionless, timid and wishy-washy. It would have been fun if they had her go off the rails like Julia Roberts in "My Best Friend's Wedding."

Luckily, there's Meryl Streep. She plays Miranda Priestly, the editor of Runway and the "Devil" in the title. Miranda is a woman of whims and schemes who constantly commits random of acts of meanness. She's a pleasure to watch and the way Streep plays her, you come to admire her drive and intelligence. She's the real heroine of the movie.

I thought this was a nice little morality tale, if a bit trite, like most. Before the titles had run, we knew Andie would eschew glamour and decadence to become the scrappy reporter with the little newpaper, defending the downtrodden before all was said and done. And reconcile with her toothpate model/short-order cook boyfriend!

For me, Hathaway really stood out in Brokeback Mountain and, having missed most of her other work was interested in seeing what she made of this role. After mild disappointment, I recalled that an actor can only work within the context of the script and director's instructions. I think I'll rent Havoc and hope for the best.